Love is NOT Worth the Trouble
by Nemesis dan Impyrean
Summary: After Yami passes on to the afterlife, Anzu asks Yugi out. Ecstatic, he says yes. They go out for a short while before Yugi realizes love and relationships aren't what they're all cracked up to be - especially since Yugi slowly realizes Anzu still only wants Yami, using Yugi as a replacement. He breaks up with her, which causes his friends to abandon him. All except one...
1. Ostracized

**Hey! This is short and not really sweet, so please move onto another one-shot of mine if you aren't satisfied. This is mostly stress relief from breaking up with my girlfriend.**

* * *

Curled up on his bed, Yugi felt pathetic as he clutched his phone. It was hours after school ended, and he knew they would have texted him by now if they wanted to. Still…

He sighed, sitting up. Still holding his phone so that when it vibrated, he would know instantly, the small boy stood. Grabbing a cookie, he sat on the couch, flipping through the channels on TV.

His phone still hadn't vibrated.

Yugi bit his lip. He wasn't going to cry. Not after keeping it in during school.

* * *

Of course they picked his picnic table. There were probably a dozen other places they could have gone, but they sat on the picnic table he was on.

He burrowed his head deeper into his jacket arms, knowing they probably just hadn't noticed him. He prayed that they would continue to do just that, talking and laughing loudly, not noticing the small figure on their table. For a while, they didn't notice.

Then he heard, "You know, he's right there."

It was Anzu. She'd always been the more observant of the three. He could hear them shifting to look, and then Jonouchi said dismissively, "Yeah, I know."

He heard Anzu laugh softly, whispering something to the other two.

There was no point in him being there. Yugi got up without looking at them, and left. They didn't even acknowledge him as he did so. It stung in more ways than one.

He ended up staying in the library all day.

* * *

Turning off the TV, Yugi stuffed his phone into his pocket, heading back to bed. There was no reason to wait. None of his 'friends' were going to talk to him…

His phone vibrated.

Yugi scrabbled for it in his pocket, flipping it open hastily. It was Ryou, and the text read, _So I hear you and Anzu broke up._

His heart fell. _Yeah_ , he texted back.

 _Do you want to talk about it?_

Yugi was about to respond with a _no_ , but then he hesitated. Ryou was a kind soul - which made it sadder he transferred schools - who wouldn't judge him or criticize.

 _Kind of._

Ryou texted him, _I'll call you now then._

Moments later his phone rang. Yugi accepted the call. "How are you doing?" came Ryou's soft voice, worry plain in his tone.

Yugi sighed. "Not… great," he admitted.

A sound of understanding. "I thought you two were doing fine. Did something happen?"

"Yeah… It's just…" Yugi shook his head. After a moment, he said, "You know she was my first girlfriend?"

"I figured," Ryou chuckled softly.

"Shouldn't two people in a relationship… I don't know… be able to trust each other?"

Yugi could practically feel Ryou's confused frown. "I - yes, of course."

"I just…" He exhaled. "Couldn't. Trust her, I mean. After Yami, trusting seemed too hard. I mean…"

"I get it," Ryou told him. Ryou would, of course. Even if he and Bakura hadn't gotten along at all, period, that kind of intimate connection left ordinary relationships feeling lacking. And with how close Yugi and Yami had been… nothing could compare.

Yugi sighed. "...Thanks… that actually helped. A bit."

"Wanna go see a movie?" Ryou offered.

Yugi smiled sadly. "Sure. No romance movies, though."

A chuckle. "That'll be hard to find, but I'm sure we'll manage. It's kind of late, too, but I think we can catch one."

"Thanks," Yugi said, relieved.


	2. Accusations

"Why have you been ignoring us lately?"

Yugi looked up in shock to see his former friends - who haven't spoken to him in a _week_ \- glaring at him accusingly. He didn't know what to say. "I... _I've_ been ignoring _you_?" he checked, wondering if he had heard correctly. It was confirmed when Jonouchi snapped, "Yeah! You haven't been hanging out with us at all! Walking away whenever we're nearby!"

Oh.

Were they seriously gonna play that card?

Yugi scoffed.

Anzu frowned at him, seeming disappointed. "What's gotten into you, Yugi? Why are you... being so mean?"

 _He_ was being mean. Yugi bit his lip, quiet for a moment as he tried not to snap out at them. Then he said slowly, "I haven't been ignoring you guys." Then, just to get to the point, he added, "Aren't you guys kind of giving me the cold shoulder?"

Honda rolled his eyes. "Why would we do that?"

Yugi gave Anzu a pointed look, at which she blushed and looked away.

He really did want to say, _I'm sorry, it was just a misunderstanding._ But... there was no way it was. No way. He'd heard what they said for himself. This was the reason he broke up with Anzu - it just wasn't right. And if he had to give up his friends - as much as something inside him broke at the thought - then... he would. Ryou was still there for him. And if Yami was the only reason they'd been friends, then they may as well just say 'good-bye' now.

"Whatever," Yugi muttered, picking up his bag. He only turned halfway when Jonouchi snapped, "Don't turn your back on us! You're in the wrong here!"

Anger flared in him, but he held it back.

Old memories of taunts, of bruises, of beatings and wounds - they all prevented him from snapping back. Because that's who Jonouchi was before they were friends. And Jonouchi - and Honda - could easily be those people again.

Anzu had always treated him well, but 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' went the old saying, didn't it?

So Yugi kept walking, and they didn't follow.

Even though this was his choice, it still stung they didn't care enough to even follow.

* * *

"Hey, Yugi? What're you doing here?"

Ryou had every right to be surprised - here Yugi was, showing up in front of another school's gates. He smiled sheepishly. "Do you have plans for tonight?"

"No…" Ryou seemed to think it over before saying, more certain this time, "My afternoon's pretty much free. Why, what's wrong?"

Yugi fidgeted. "...Can we hang out? Eat? Catch a movie?"

Ryou blinked before smiling - softly, genuinely. "Of course!" He started to dig through his pockets. "I have some cash…"

"I'll help pay," Yugi added.

They started walking away from the school. Eventually Ryou asked, "About… the gang… are they…?" Having been told the whole story, Ryou was thoroughly concerned for Yugi. But the boy waved it way. "It's okay. I guess we weren't as friendly as I thought. So where do you want to eat?"

The subject change was glaringly obvious, but Ryou said, "Well, how do you feel about h - pizza?" He had been about to say hamburgers, but remembering where Anzu worked, quickly switched. "There's this pretty cool pizza place that opened up. What do you say?" He looked over at Yugi, who was looking at his phone. Noticing the lull in conversation, Yugi looked back at him. "Oh - yeah, sounds good!"

* * *

"Thanks for hanging out with me," Yugi muttered, looking at his feet.

Ryou, who'd been about to leave, stopped and smiled. "Don't worry. You know we're friends! It's all fine."

Yugi made a pained expression. "I'm not a very good judge of what 'good friends' are, I guess. "

The other frowned.

"I'm fine," Yugi reassured him.

Ryou smiled slightly. "Okay. I'll always be here if you're not, though."


End file.
